1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to source devices that provide multimedia content to one or more sink devices, and in particular to authentication protocols for enabling source devices to authenticate one or more sink devices for content distribution.
2. Description of the Related Art
High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) is a copy protection system and/or protocol that prevent the streaming or copying of high quality digital audio and video data. The data, which is typically transmitted via a Display Port, a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), and/or a Digital Visual Interface (DVI), is protected by the use of a HDCP master key. The HDCP master key is proprietary in nature and until recently has been unique in the industry. However, the privacy of the HDCP master key has become compromised.
Digital Content Protection (DCP), the HDCP licensing company, controls the use of the HDCP master key. DCP utilizes the HDCP master key to generate the private keys utilized in all HDCP devices. Each HDCP device, whether a source device or a sink device, has its own private key which is maintained within the electronic circuitry of the device. The private keys are generated from a single master key. The use of the correct source and sink private keys enables each source/sink pair to successfully decrypt data sent from source to sink during the source—sink handshake. Content can only be transmitted once this handshake is completed, i.e., the sink device is properly authenticated. With knowledge of the HDCP master key being compromised, audio and video pirates are now more equipped to create illegal high-quality digital copies of high definition video.